The Champions Cup pool stages have drawn to a close and the knockout pairings are now known.
It is an indictment of the competition when some teams can win just one game yet still manage to make it through to the knockout stages of a tournament that is meant to pit the best of the northern hemisphere teams against each other.
Ulster's reward for scraping through thanks to a single win is to travel away to a side that beat them convincingly at the Kingspan Stadium in the group stages. It still took 60 minutes for Bordeaux to distance themselves from Ulster and that would be Richie Murphy’s message to his players when the rematch comes around.
However, the objective view is that sending Ulster to Bordeaux for a knockout game on current form is like sending lambs to the slaughter.
Bordeaux are one of the three clear favourites to win the tournament, alongside Leinster and Toulouse. Ulster’s hopes of going to France and causing an upset don't seem fathomable at this stage, particularly after seeing what Bordeaux and Damian Penaud did to the Sharks last weekend, running in 10 tries in a 66-12 mauling.
The rebuild in Ulster is admirable. Watching their improvements is quite interesting because of the young talent that has come through. They might be at the earlier stages of developing a team but there are future internationals at the club.
Yet at the same time, they really shouldn't be in the knockout stages of a competition that's supposed to be about pitting the best of the best against each other.
The gulf between the top teams and the rest of the pack is more obvious than ever.
Toulouse scored a point per minute in their 80-12 drubbing of a traditional European stalwart, Leicester. Champions Cup rugby shouldn’t have such scorelines.
The last one came in the 21/22 season when Leinster destroyed the Montpellier side that, in all honesty, disrespected the competition with a heavy squad rotation that summed up the issues with the new format.
The reward for Toulouse is to host Sale Sharks, before playing the winners of Saracens and Toulon. If you predicted the results based on the probability or likelihood of winning, Toulouse should meet fellow French attacking maestros Bordeaux in a semi-final, with the winners setting up a likely decider with Leinster.
Leinster have worked their way into what is perceived to be the easier side of the draw. They will avoid any French opposition until a possible semi-final, however the three fancied French teams - La Rochelle, Bordeaux and Toulouse - are on the other side of the draw.
Leinster will host Harlequins and then the winners of Glasgow and Leicester. Any of those three sides could cause Leinster some trouble on their day, but much like Bath at the weekend, it won’t be enough to change the landscape of the later rounds in this tournament.
The knockout game with the strongest narrative is undoubtedly Munster's trip to La Rochelle. Not many will give Munster a chance in a tie away from home against one of the Champions Cup's most dominant teams in recent years.
"For the European Cup traditionalists, it's a mouthwatering tie."
La Rochelle haven’t been at the height of their powers, yet despite missing some key players they still gave Leinster their biggest challenge this year and could well have won that game in the dying moments.
Their power on the pitch will prove too much for Munster, and Ronan O’Gara will find an easy storyline to get buy-in from his players, having visited the south of Ireland last year.
For the European Cup traditionalists, it’s a mouthwatering tie. With a rare direct flight from Cork Airport, you should see a strong sea of red taking over the Stade Marcel Deflandre.
Benetton’s qualification shows how much effort Italian rugby is putting into their survival in the URC and Champions Cup. There might be elements of putting all their eggs in one basket with Zebre’s struggles, yet for the union it’s great to have them qualifying with a win against La Rochelle.
On the other hand, none of the South African teams have qualified. The Sharks only had to avoid a heavy defeat to Bordeaux and they would have gone through, yet they failed to do so, and Ulster forced their way through to the next round.
It questions the attractiveness of the Champions Cup to these South African franchises. Considering the travel difficulties and a tournament structure that doesn’t consider longer distance logistics, it’s no surprise that they have struggled in recent times.
Something else that the Champions Cup tournament has done thus far is showcase the current firepower of French rugby. It might not be a direct representation of the French national team, but French club rugby is as strong as ever.
There are a handful of non-French players adding to the strength of Toulouse and Bordeaux in particular, yet most of their talent is French and will be selected for the national team in a frightening level of squad depth.
It’s the Six Nations fixture rotation where France arguably have their toughest fixtures away from home in Ireland and England. However, their attacking threat and player quality will make them the most exciting team to watch in the spring.
It’s often said that a fast start is hugely important in this competition. A tournament opener against Wales at home should set them up for a strong attempt at a Grand Slam.
Champions Cup rugby will be parked for a couple of months, while international squads scramble to come together for the best part of two weeks.
The Six Nations can take quite a toll on the stronger squads. Look at Leinster for example. They’ll go close to having a starting team in green throughout the Six Nations.
The Champions Cup will be put on hold now until the Six Nations is over. The more formidable teams in the Champions Cup will be providing far more of their talent to the national sides.
And while they’ll be hoping to keep their players’ confidence high with a successful championship, they’ll have their fingers and toes crossed for a full bill of health upon their return for the much more difficult and competitive fixtures in the Champions Cup.
Watch Dragons v Munster in the URC on Saturday from 7.15pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player
Watch Ulster v Zebre in the URC on Sunday from 5pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player
